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Best Loose-Meat Lamb

Spero

Staff Pick

We here at the City Paper love to hit up the restaurants in our neighborhood. Santi’s, Martha Lou’s, and the Tattooed Moose have long been CP faves, while Edmund’s Oast has quickly established itself as our favorite after-work eatery within walking distance — seriously, man, that shrimp toast. Another relative newcomer has also won over our taste buds, Spero. While we’d be remiss if we failed to mention their sourdough pretzel bread with ham butter — it’s worthy of all the praise — we can’t help but lick our lips whenever we think of grabbing one of Spero’s sandies for lunch. Both the braised brisket and the Korean are flavor bombs, but it’s damned difficult not to go with the lamb barbacoa. Made with pickled jalapeños, North Carolina-style barbecue sauce, mayo, and queso fresco, the barbacoa is like a loose-meat sandwich perfected. —Chris Haire